The Chenoweth Massacre of July 17, 1789 was the last major Native American raid in present-day

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. Captain Richard Chenoweth, builder of

Fort Nelson A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

, was stationed with his family northeast of present-day Middletown when a large band of Native Americans (likely

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

) attacked from across the Ohio River. They killed three of Chenoweth's children, Levi, Margaret and Polly and two of the soldiers. Chenoweth's wife, Margaret "Peggy" née McCarthy was pierced through the lungs by an arrow and seriously wounded. She

faked death A faked death, also called a staged death, is the act of an individual purposely deceiving other people into believing that the individual is dead, when the person is, in fact, still alive. The faking of one's own death by suicide is sometimes ref ...

while an attacker took her scalp. She survived and wore a hat for the rest of her life to conceal the scars. Two soldiers were captured alive and were ritually burned at the stake near the springhouse. Chenoweth Station was likely targeted in the raid because it was relatively isolated from the nearest settlements of

Linn's Station Hurstbourne is a home rule-class city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,216 at the 2010 census, up from 3,884 at the time of the 2000 U.S. census. It is part of the Louisville Metro Government. History The ...

and the

Falls of the Ohio The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Indiana Department ...

. What is now called the

Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse The Chenoweth Fort-Springhouse is a historic stone structure near Avoca Road near Middletown, Kentucky. Built about 1786, it is believed to be the oldest standing structure in Louisville, Kentucky, and was the site of the Chenoweth Massacre, a ...

, where Chenoweth and his wife took refuge, has been preserved and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

References

Native American history of Kentucky History of Louisville, Kentucky 1789 in the United States 1789 in Virginia Conflicts in 1789 Massacres by Native Americans 1789 crimes in the United States 1789 murders 18th-century murders in the United States Massacres in the 1780s Kentucky in the Northwest Indian War Pre-statehood history of Kentucky {{Louisville-stub

See also

Further reading

References